The Press-Dispatch
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B-1 Wednesday, December 25, 2013 The Press-Dispatch Chargers snap losing streaks with 69-58 win over Rivet Raley powers Lady Titans past Pike Central, 55-16 By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Sophomore Tyler Toopes scored a gamehigh 21 points as the Pike Central High School boys' basketball team defeated visiting Vincennes Rivet 69-58 on Friday, Dec. 20. The victory, which ended a 13-game losing streak dating back to last season, also was the first home win by the Chargers since beating Wood Memorial 50-44 on Jan. 6, 2012, a stretch of 14 games. "Two years almost," exclaimed Pike Central head coach John Mokris, whose team evened its record at 1-1. "It was good for the fans. The fans got into it a little bit and we had a nice crowd tonight. Hopefully, more people will come out." The game also marked the first time the Chargers had scored as many as 69 points in a game since Feb. 12, 2009, when Pike Central defeated Tecumseh 69-68 in overtime. The last time the Chargers scored at least 69 points in regulation was on Dec. 21, 2005, in a 69-61 win over Wood Memorial. Toopes, who hit seven of 10 field goal attempts, including one three-pointer, and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line, was one of four players to reach double figures in scoring for Pike Central, with senior Kegan Aldridge netting 16 points while junior Garrett Elliott and his brother, freshman Gabe Elliott, added 15 and 12 points, respectively. Senior Bailey White, came off the bench to score five points while tying for the team lead in rebounds, six, with Toopes. In addition, Aldridge and freshman Colton White dished out six assists each, while Aldridge and Toopes had four steals apiece. "It was a team effort," said Mokris. "We had four in double figures, which I can't even tell you the last time that happened. I know last year we didn't have that. I think we had one time with three. But even to put that many points on the board, we haven't done that in a while." After Vincennes Rivet scored five straight points to take a 7-2 lead with 2:43 left in the first period, the Chargers, on a basket and a pair of free throws by Toopes and a threepoint play by Aldridge, rallied to take a 9See Rivet on B-2 Pike Central High School junior Garrett Elliott (32) dribbles toward the basket during game action against visiting Vincennes Rivet on Friday, Dec. 20. Ed Cahill photo. Pike Central Middle School eighth grader Erika Hendrixson (11) prepares to shoot the ball while being defended by Princeton's Destanee Miley (left) during game action on Wednesday, Dec. 18. Ed Cahill photo. Hendrixson powers Lady Chargers past Princeton, 36-29 By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Pike Central High School freshman Jolene Whitehead (25) takes a shot over Gibson Southern sophomore Maddie Raley (34) during game action on Thursday, Dec. 19. Ed Cahill photo. By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Maddie Raley scored 14 of her game-high 18 points in the first quarter as Gibson Southern routed visiting Pike Central 55-16 in a high school girls' basketball game on Thursday, Dec. 19. Raley, a 6-foot sophomore, hit six of seven field goal attempts in the opening period, including two from beyond the three-point line, as the Lady Titans sprinted to a 16-5 lead. "She got started strong out of the gate," said Gibson Southern head coach Mark Monroe of Raley, who also grabbed five rebounds, dished out a pair of assists and blocked one shot. "She played very hard defensively. Her rebounding was very good. Her movement in the offense was extremely good. This was probably the most complete game she's played this year." "I told the girls that they were probably going to go to her early and we were going to have to really focus on where she's at," said Pike Central head coach Randy Graham, whose team fell to 0-7 overall and 03 in the Pocket Athletic Conference. "She's probably the best player in our conference, so we had our hands full." "She's just really athletic and can put the ball on the floor and can play inside and outside," Graham added. "When you have a player like that, you're able to do a lot of things with her." Raley, however, was just one of several Lady Titans who played exceptionally well as Gibson Southern racked up 17 assists, including four by senior Vailey Eberhard and three each by junior Kiana Smith and junior Han- nah Cosby, while hitting 22 of 48 field goal attempts, a 45.8 percent average. "One of the things that I liked about tonight is we did a very good job of finding the open person," said Monroe, whose team improved to 4-3 overall and 1-0 in the PAC. "They did a very, very good job of getting the ball to the person at the right time, and in the first quarter, it was Maddie. Maddie was open, we got the ball to her, she finished at the end." "That's what it's all about," Monroe added. "I always look at that pass that leads to that shot, who made that pass. We just had great ball movement tonight, just a great job. I was very, very pleased." In addition, Gibson Southern had 17 steals, including four each by senior Jordan Robinson and freshman Presley Johnson, and outrebounded Pike Central 34-15, led by Cosby with nine. "That's been another point that we've put a lot of emphasis on, is our rebounding," Monroe said. "We are tall but, you know, we're not a physically big team. We're a bunch of slender, skinny kids, so we have to be constantly working on that." "They out-worked us on the boards and they were quicker than us to the basketball," Graham said. "We've got some improvement to make there." After falling behind 5-0 on a basket and a three-pointer by Raley in the game's first minute, Pike Central pulled to within two points when senior forward Emily Howes hit a three-pointer with 5:26 left in the opening period. Gibson Southern answered with a 7-0 run on a basket and a three-pointer by RalSee Power on B-2 Erika Hendrixson netted a gamehigh 17 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked three shots to power the Pike Central Middle School eighth grade girls' basketball team past host Princeton 36-29 on Wednesday, Dec. 18. With the Lady Chargers trailing 13-8 late in the first half, Hendrixson scored 13 straight points to give Pike Central a 21-13 lead with 2:40 left in the third period. During that stretch, Hendrixson hit five of six field goal attempts, including a three-pointer, and was 2-for-2 from the free throw line while grabbing five rebounds, and one steal and blocking one shot. "Erika came out of her shell and played her best game so far," said Pike Central head coach Eric Knight, whose team improved to 8-2. "She was very impressive on the boards and she took over offensively by driving to the basket." "She took over this game and I am very proud of her," Knight added. "As a coach, I have been pretty hard on her because I know her potential. And I will continue to push her to make her even better as she goes into high school." Pike Central took an early 6-3 lead on a pair of baskets by Brook Nalley and one by Hendrixson, before missing 12 consecutive field goal attempts and turning the ball over 12 times, as Princeton scored eight consecutive points to surge ahead 11-6 with 2:29 left in the second period. "It was a hard and very physical game," Knight said. "The first half we had a hard time getting physical and fighting for rebounds. We also had a very hard time at getting past See girls on B-4 Charger wrestlers top Tell City, 45-34 in first action since Dec. 3 The Pike Central High School wrestling team recorded seven pins as the Chargers defeated host Tell City 45-34 on Tuesday, Dec. 17. The match was the first action seen by the Pike Central grapplers since a home dual meet against Owensboro (Ky.) on Tuesday, Dec. 3, three days before the area was struck by snow storms that cancelled four days of school. "I am, overall, pleased with the results of this match," said Pike Central head coach Billy Hewig. "We were off the mat for eight days in a row and on- ly had two practices to get ready for this match. We also had four varsity wrestlers out with injuries and were still able to pull out the win against a very physical Tell City team." Senior Dalton Miller, competing in the 285 -pound weight class, took on Tell City's Cody Osborne, who Miller wrestled during regionals last season. Miller pinned Osbourne in 2 minutes, 34 seconds. "Dalton had a great match, wrestling really offensively, and put his opponent to his back twice before getting the pin early in the second period," Hewig said. Senior Devin Phillips, competing in the 145-pound weight class, pinned his opponent, Steven Wheatley, in 2:15. "Devin looked really physical on the mat," Hewig said. "He looked good on top and on his feet trying to set up a lot of different moves and really wrestled a tough match." Freshman Jaylon Owens, meanwhile, recorded the match's quickest pin, pinning Tell City's Christian Alvey in 20 seconds in the 152-pound weight class. "Jaylon looked very, very tough and showed how much potential he has in the sport by taking down his oppo- Pike Central High School senior A.J. Ronk (in black) wrestles against Wood Memorial's Quinton Might in the 160-pound weight class at the Jordan Hill Classic on Saturday, Dec. 21, at Evansville North. Ed Cahill photo. nent and putting him to his back very quickly with a very physical couple of moves," Hewig said. Senior Alex Roberts, competing in the 195 -pound weight class, remained unbeaten on the season by pinning C.J. Rowe in 4:34. "Alex really put on a technical clinic, using technique that we have been working on really hard over the past couple of months, and looked really dominant in his performance," Hewig said. Junior Jacob Day, competing in the 220-pound weight class, pinned his opponent, Austin Maffia, in 1:41. See wrestling on B-3 Sharp shooting North Posey Vikings roll past Chargers, 67-49 By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Senior Michael Bender scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the second half to lead host North Posey to a 67-49 win over Pike Central in a high school boys' basketball game on Saturday, Dec. 21. Bender, who spent most of the first half on the bench after picking up his second personal foul with 5:49 left in the opening period, made eight of nine field goal attempts, including four of five tries from beyond the threepoint arc, and hit one of two free throws. "I told them he's the best Pike Central High School senior Kegan Aldridge (12) goes up for a shot while North Posey junior Bryce Martin (21) defends during game action on Saturday, Dec. 21. Ed Cahill photo. shooter, or one of the top three, that we'll play," said Pike Central head coach John Mokris, whose team fell to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in the Pocket Athletic Conference. "Heritage Hills has two nice shooters, too, but (Bender) can flat out shoot." Bender's sharp shooting proved contagious as the Vikings, after hitting 10 of 22 field goal attempts in the first half, made 16 of 25 in the second half, a 64 percent average. "It just seemed like whatever I turned to defensively, we could not step up, whatsoever, as we did last night," Mokris said. Pike Central played well early in the contest, with ju- nior Garrett Elliott scoring eight points during a 12-3 scoring spurt that propelled the Chargers to a 17-9 lead with 6:55 left in the second period. However, back-to-back baskets by senior Reed Gerteisen pulled North Posey to within 17-13. Then, following a basket by senior Cody Ungetheim, Bender buried a three-pointer, giving the Vikings an 18-17 lead with 5:02 remaining in the first half. A basket by Bender and a free throw by Gerteisen finished off a 12-0 scoring run that left North Posey with a 21-17 lead. Pike Central rallied, scoring five straight points on a free throw by senior Kegan Aldridge followed by backto-back baskets by Toopes and Aldridge, to regain the lead at 22-21 with 1:39 left in the second quarter. The Vikings, however, answered by scoring the last five points of the first half, on two free throws by junior James Marshall and a threepoint play by Gerteisen, to take a 26-22 halftime lead. North Posey then scored the first five points of the second half, on a three-pointer by Bender and a basket by Marshall, to extend its lead to 31-22. After Toopes hit a pair of free throws to pull the Chargers back to within seven points, Marshall sank a See Vikings on B-6